Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2023-02-03, By: madmattd Info: The snow chutes on the N side of Cameron are filled in and fairly wind-packed. Snow felt stable (not deep either), and I put on my mountaineering snowshoes to cross as they are far superior in traction to microspikes - worked fine. Otherwise, there were opportunities to detour a little higher and around the worst area. The road up to and through the "Bross Bypass" had a few inches of snow but also bare rock, I used no traction/flotation aids and was fine - microspikes would be a good option B. I did use spikes for almost the entire descent, there were short stretches of rock but generally there was a ribbon of snow down the summer trail until I lost it about 300' above the willows near Kite Lake. From there I put snowshoes back on as I was punching through a lot, and marched back to the car 2 miles below the summer TH. The descent of Bross was way nicer with a little snow gluing all the crappy gravel together, though still steep and not terribly pleasant - still, better than in summer by a lot! Bross's slopes are pretty bare other than the ribbon of snow on the trail itself. S-gully was pretty thin and narrow up high, I can post a pic later this weekend if anyone wants to see. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2022-06-25, By: hsfedina Info: In great condition. Went up Bross doing Decalibron. All peaks great but Democrat had some snow to go thru, but no postholing at 2 pm. Saw a goat and her baby. |
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Route: "Dolly Varden Gully" Posted On: 2022-06-06, By: Marcos Info: The gully still has good coverage, even if the snow doesn't reach all the way to the parking area any more. Good spot for some late-season low angle turns. ACCESS NOTE: About half a mile from the parking area, watch out for hand-dug trench crossing the road. It's totally out of character with the rest of the road up to that point, and you will need an alignment or possibly a new driveshaft if you hit it going faster than about 3 mph. |
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Route: "S Gully" Posted On: 2022-06-01, By: flyzapper Info: We used the S Gully to descend Bross after completing the loop. We inserted into the gully at 14,000 feet on Bross, as the standard scree trail crosses. It was full of snow as of 5/31 with all of the recent snowfall, and in good condition. With the west facing slope, the snow softens in the afternoon and can make glissades a bit slow if done too late in the day. Overall a very fun way to descend. |
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Route: "Dolly Varden Gully" Posted On: 2022-05-26, By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Good news for any other skiers/boarders looking to take advantage of this past week's storms: Snow is continuous from summit to Windy Ridge Road! Bad news: the road, as of today, had just enough snow on it that I wussed out a mile from the turn off Kite Lake Road and parked at a pull-off, but not so much snow that I wanted to skin the rest of the way (see TH update for pics); I walked the rest of the distance to the start of the gully with my skis on my pack. Happily, I was able to skin up and then ski down the entirety of the gully. Between treeline and where the gully opens up, the snow is wind-crusted to the point where I'd have wanted microspikes if I'd been booting it up. The snow is, unsurprisingly, a bit thin on the summit plateau; I tried to stick to my skin tracks going back across as much as possible so that I'd be able to see where the rocks were most eager to take a swipe at my skis. As the wind and sun keep working their, uh, magic, keeping skins on until wherever you drop down might not be such a bad idea. Snow had gotten a tad slushy by the time I dropped in, but perhaps thanks to the wind, it didn't reach full mashed-potato status until I hit the willows. I did have some good turns between the ridge and re-entering the gully, though as on the summit, being mindful of shallowly-covered rocks is prudent. It appeared that I was the first (and, so far, only) skier to go up this route since the last round of snow. Anybody interested in taking advantage of my skin track might find themselves wondering why I took such a serpentine path instead of a more direct route to the summit - to that I say that 1. I was going for the path of least resistance, 2. the path of least resistance also happened to be where the most favorable ratio of snow to rocks was, and 3. anyone else is, of course, welcome to put in their own track! ;) |
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Route: "Dolly Varden Gully" Posted On: 2022-05-15, By: habaceeba Info: The road is in good shape. No snow until just before the mine. There is a drift that can be bypassed on the right. I put a few more details in a TH conditions report. The walk to the gully from the mine is about 150 to 200 yards. Started at 7:40am with solid skinnable snow. It was softening up before I got to the top of it. I hit South Bross, Cameron, and Mt. Bross. Got back down to my ski gear at the top of the gully around 12:30. Aside from the suncups, the snow was in good skiing condition until the very bottom. The snow is holding on for now, but it is dirty. I didn't probe for depth, but I would bet it will melt out quickly. Go get it now if you want it. It was a great day out. |
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Route: "Dolly Varden Gully" Posted On: 2022-05-10, By: Cthulhu 2008 Info: Made it to the mine in 4Runner w/ KO2s. Some drifts and continuous patches of snow. Only 2 places of concern. Not too bad on the way up as it was mostly frozen. Did get stuck once on the way down. It should be open real soon though. Continuous snow from within site of the truck to 13,600'. Booted the summit from there. Gully is skiing well. |
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Route: "Dolly Varden Gully" Posted On: 2022-05-03, By: climbnowworklater Info: Beautiful day! R/T ~8 miles. Took 4 hours at a leisurely pace. Did more walking than skiing but totally worth it. The gully skied nice. The road in had multiple drifts and long sections of dirt. In a week or so the road should be melted out to the mine I'd think. Coverage could be good for a few weeks or more. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2022-03-21, By: Eli Watson Info: Summitted "DeCaLiBro" from winter parking at private property below Kite Lake TH. Parked approx 1.8 mi shy of Kite Lake TH. Some cars were parked right at the sign at the edge of private property. I chose to park a few hundred yards down the hill where there's an obvious pull off area off the road. I wore snowshoes shortly after the gate and was glad to have them on until approx 12,800'. I bobbed and weaved through the Kite Lake bowl and upper Democrat slopes to avoid avy terrain or wind drifts. I'm probably around 200 lbs with gear and pack, and the strong wind gusts out of the NW were not fun. There's a lot wind drifts that make for really variable snow conditions from bulletproof wind hammer to sugar that made for a more frustrating day than expected. Wore spikes from the summit of Democrat all the way back to the car. The Bross "S Gully" is tempting to want to take down, but it doesn't look ready and I wasn't prepared to have to climb out of it if the snow was too sketchy. I honestly think descending Bross with snow is preferable to dry. Saw 7ish other hikers out today. A group of them summited Democrat without snowshoes, but I was glad to have mine on. I could have put them on the road walk out and avoid sinking down a bit, but it would have been more effort than it was worth to switch again. 10.95 mi, 4260', 6:50 Car-to-Car Splits: 5:55 AM Parking 6:25 AM Turn off from Kite Lake TH Rd (0:30) 8:48 AM Democrat Summit (2:23) 10:15 AM Cameron Summit (1:27) 10:40 AM Lincoln Summit (0:25) 11:20 PM Bross Summit (0:40) 12:45 PM Parking (1:25) |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2021-10-04, By: Kschroeder10210 Info: Went counterclockwise. About 6” of snow on the final ascent of Bross, windy but manageable. If you descend, I'd recommend traction. It was fine on the ascent without. Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron had icy traverses but nothing too sketchy. All passable without traction. I'd want micro spikes after the next snowstorm. |
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Route: West Slopes Posted On: 2021-09-18, By: mtngoatwithstyle Info: Dry to "bypass summit". Beautiful day but cold on the ridge to the saddle. Saw some people filtering water from the creek but I think that is not potable as it comes down from the mines above. The scree trail lives up to its reputation but with microspikes coming down was a breeze. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2021-06-30, By: Alacrity Info: Got to the trailhead with a decent clearance 2WD SUV without an issue. I did the reverse of the standard route. Got to the trailhead at sunrise. (Around 0600) The parking lot never filled (could see the lot from much of the standard route) Bathrooms were in good condition. Did not see another soul on Bross. (Aka no one did the reverse route that morning) Some loose rock but the trail is really not as bad as some make it out to be and I don't think going down would be that bad if you do the standard route. Only places I lost the trail was going down Cameron and going up Democrat. It looks like hikers going up democrat have been going off trail to avoid a little snow patch portion since I was the last one on Democrat and did not see any footprints in the snow where the trail should have been. If you skip this little snow part then no spikes are needed for the entire route. I was glad I did not bring any snow provisions as it would have just been extra weight. All in all fun route and good bang for your buck to Summit 4 peaks in a day. I went slow and took lots of breaks so the whole thing took me a little over 7 1/2 hours. All in all fun hike, enjoy! |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2021-06-23, By: -wren- Info: I returned to Cameron from bross as I had no interest in that god awful descent so can't speak for that, but coming from Cameron/Lincoln there's one minor snow crossing that most will be okay to do without traction. This post is more regarding private property issues on bross at the moment, nobody was up there to tell you to turn around. Signage is a little unclear, one says to stay on trail while on private property and another says bross is closed. Hard to say if it's a particularly legal summit right now but with kite lake closure and tensions between landowners and 14er initiative this (and other decalibron peaks) should be a priority for you if you are looking to finish the 14ers and haven't gotten bross yet. get it while it's (not) hot. Should probably keep in mind this was a weekday and there might be someone turning people around on weekends, can't say for sure. |
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Route: West Slopes Posted On: 2021-04-10, By: jay-dub Info: We parked 1.7 miles from Kite Lake TH, no way to get beyond that stop. I drive a 4Runner, but any 2wd vehicle could have made it that far. We carried snowshoes and stashed them at Kite Lake for returning on the road, but did not use them (despite soft snow on the road). Left the truck at 5:45 am, reached TH less than an hour less. Summited the peak that shall not be named 10 am. (In October, we ascended in 2.5 hr.) Strong winds and sugar-snow for most of the ascent. Spikes absolutely required in significant spots- especially through the short snow above the gulley crossing. Much of the hike was on the infamous scree, with small amounts of snow. Cornices were easily avoided. The wind & cold seemed to increase as we went higher. As we arrived at summit, the conditions prevented us from even seeing Cameron or Lincoln, ok... Cameron very faintly. We thus were unable to visually inspect the steep snow crossing on the side of Cameron where others had advised crampons & axes. After just a few minutes of photos, food, and weather measurements, it was time for a decision. (7 degrees F and wind gusting into the 30s.) I felt I was missing one layer of down, and wished I'd packed it. The two others in our group agreed- we underestimated the forecast and thus had to leave immediately. I know of only 2 ways back to Kite Lake: over Cameron or to return the way we'd come. We chose the known conditions over the unknown of Cameron++. Of course within 15-20 minutes of leaving the summit, the weather changed completely- sunny and blue skies for the rest of the day. This was the first time we all wished we'd left 60-90 minutes later. In summer, we leave early to avoid lightning, and in winter we try to avoid soft snow in the afternoon. But this time, we didn't need a 3 am departure from Highlands Ranch, or the 5:45 start time from the truck. Live and learn. No regrets, and we still had a wonderful day in the mountains! Can't wait for the next one ;-) |
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Route: "Dolly Varden Gully" Posted On: 2021-04-04, By: serveJesusChrist Info: The road is closed at Paris Mill, 3 miles from the summer TH. I skinned up to about 12,000 before dropping the skis and hiking the rest. I stopped short of the private property where thr true summit is because it is not open. The snow was difficult to skin because it melted yesterday and froze overnight making it very icy. Without skis, you would need snowshoes. Above 12,000 feet, there are snowfields, but they can be avoided. Therefore, neither spikes nor snowshoes are necessary. The ski down was icy and not good skiing. It was hard to dig in with the icy top layer. |
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Route: "S Gully" Posted On: 2021-04-05, By: AndyFromDenver Info: The road was in decent shape up to about 1.7 miles from the trailhead. I parked there with several other vehicles (I drive a Crosstrek and had zero issues getting to this point). There were a handful of others (some Subarus and Jeeps) that made it another half-mile near the road closure, but it definitely looked like it would've been tough going beyond where I parked). I imagine the road is even easier to pass after the warm temps this weekend. I skinned up the S Gully to about 13,600 when it got too steep to skin and hiked to the summit from there. The skiing was great until probably around 12,600 before it got a little crusty for several hundred feet, and then it was very soft and a bit slushy. Again, I imagine by now, more of it is crusty after the warm temps. On another note, I'd be very careful trying to go up Democrat right now--there is a lot of loaded snow near the summit that looks like it could fall. |
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Route: West Slopes Posted On: 2021-02-17, By: BillShatner Info: Trail to Bross and S. Bross in OK condition. Covered with snow early on and easy to get lost and venture too far south onto the mountain face, so be careful to follow the gulley. What little tracks we left yesterday were already covered by the time we got back, so not much bootpack or trail to follow in places where it's not obvious.Eventually it becomes easy to follow. Only a little snow on it, but the trail's its usual loose mess, couple with some snow. Not enough to help. We didn't go for full decalibron in the -9 temps, so nothing to report beyond Bross. Looked like Democrat was pretty snow-covered, but Lincoln and Cameron seemed manageable if we'd wanted to press on. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-11-02, By: Blachut Info: Decent amount of snow but never had to use my ice spikes. Very little wind today which means shorts/t-shirt! Yey! The gate to kite lake is closing today; you'll have to now start admit a mile early. |
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Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 2020-09-17, By: lauradaughtry Info: *NOTE: I did not climb/summit Democrat, so I can't entirely say what the condition of it was beyond the saddle connecting it to Cameron* Got to the trailhead at 7am (on a Thursday) and the lot was mostly full. Other than a few patches of packed down snow near the summits, the trail was completely melted of snow. Microspikes aren't needed at all; but trekking poles, snow or no snow, are invaluable for the descent down Bross. Clear day with light wind, but low visibility due to the wildfires. Sadly, I saw a lot of people not keeping to the trail. (This shouldn't be an excuse as the trail was in great condition and is very well marked/visible.) People contributed it to not using a map/AllTrails, etc. or the trail appearing "less easy" than the eroded pathways nearby. I even saw some people descend down the iron/ore section up to the summit, which is NO WHERE near the trail. Please, PLEASE stick to the marked trail! The fragile environment thanks you for it! |